
Assistance worth over ₹220 lakh under horticulture schemes disbursed to beneficiaries over four years
Collector R. Sadheesh was speaking about the various schemes under the Department of Horticulture at the Niraindha Manam programme. He said that under the Chief Minister's Vegetable Garden scheme, 1,313 terrace horticulture saplings were distributed each at a subsidised cost of ₹450. Similarly, in rural areas, 5,200 vegetable seed packets were distributed at ₹30 per packet; and micro greens for ₹75 each were distributed 4,500 beneficiaries.
According to the administration, under the Tamil Nadu State Horticulture Development Scheme, mobile vegetable and fruit vehicles were distributed to farmers during COVID. In Dharmapuri, 190 mobile vehicles at ₹15,000 subsidy were distributed at a cumulative cost of ₹28.5 lakh.
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Time of India
20 hours ago
- Time of India
‘Hathi-Mitra' on mission to avoid man-elephant conflict
Ranchi: Tapas Karmakar, a young graduate, is bitten by wanderlust and his insatiable desire to be with nature made him join the Wildlife Protection Society of Jharkhand in 2017. Fresh out of college, Tapas said he did not consider his work a job but more of a calling. "That is why I wasn't chasing a corporate dream or a position behind a desk. I am more into chasing forests and rivers, basically, responding to the call of the wild," he said. Born and raised in Ranchi, Tapas found his escape in nature. So, when he got the job of his choice, he immediately started monitoring the movements of elephants on the four govt-notified corridors out of the several in the state and studied the man-animal conflict. His initial curiosity in the matter turned into a commitment to save both the jumbos and the humans. "After working for around three years with the wildlife society across the state, I returned to my native village in Baranda of Sonahatu block in Ranchi district during the Covid pandemic period. During that time, a herd of about 40 wild elephants from the Dalma elephant corridor ventured into the village in search of food," Tapas said. He also said, "The herd started trampling paddy crops, making the already tense relationship between the jumbos and the villagers a more perilous one. No wonder, it resulted in property and crop losses apart from casualties among both the people and the elephants." Asserting that he needed to intervene and mitigate the problem, Tapas said, "I started tracking the herd's movement and updated the jumbo's location to the villagers on a real-time basis and their potential path through WhatsApp messages, videos and calls, so that they could stay updated and prevent further face-offs with jumbos." That's how the idea of 'Hathi-Mitra', a WhatsApp group was born. In the group, he started sharing elephant movements, alerting people to take precautions while moving out of their homes, thereby resulting in a decrease in both man and elephant conflicts and casualties. The WhatsApp group started with only a handful of villagers as members and has now grown to tens of thousands from across the state. The huge number of people is now connected through 12 WhatsApp groups and channels. The villagers update elephant movements on the groups as soon as they spot any herd, reducing conflicts. B ut Tapas didn't stop there. He began educating communities, explaining elephant behaviour, how to stay safe, and most importantly, how to coexist with the biggest animal on land and helping villagers avail compensations from the govt after incurring any elephant-inflicted damage, injuries or casualties. According to Tapas, communities living near the forest areas — especially the younger generation — need to be educated about the elephants' behaviour, their diet, and other key characteristics of the pachyderms. "This awareness can help discourage the use of outdated, often harmful methods to drive elephants away. Most casualties occur when people attempt to confront elephants directly. Introducing wildlife education into the school curriculum is also essential, so that students grow up with a better understanding of animal behaviour and develop a mindset rooted in coexistence rather than fear and conflict," Tapas added.

The Hindu
2 days ago
- The Hindu
Forest Department clears 300 acres of encroachment in Tumakuru district
The Forest Department cleared 300 acres of encroached land in the Muthugadahalli reserve forest in the Bukkapatna Chinkara Wildlife Sanctuary in Tiptur sub-division of Tumakuru district. This includes 209 acres of forestland and also land given to the Horticulture Department by the Forest Department. Given by Mysore kings Environment Minister Eshwar B. Khandre on Thursday said that the Maharaja of Mysore had given the land in Survey No. 46 in Muthugadahalli Ambarpur to the Forest Department in 1926 under the Mysore Forest Act. 'However this forestland was illegally allotted to some people. Some others had encroached on it. A case had been registered in the High Court and an order was issued to save it as a forest,' the Minister said. A complaint was also filed with the Lokayukta after Revenue officials failed to cancel the illegal sanction. Lokayukta's instructions The Minister said that as per the instructions of the Lokayukta, the land had been registered in the name of the Forest Department and the encroachment had been cleared. The encroachment drive was conducted under the supervision of the Chief Conservator of Forests of Hassan-Tumakuru division with the support of the police.


Indian Express
3 days ago
- Indian Express
‘At 1,000 feet above ground, the aircraft engines suddenly lost power': how a Pune pilot survived a crash, learnt to fly again
Written by Shubham Kurale, The morning of July 25, 2022, started like any other training day for Bhavika Rathod. The 24-year-old pilot trainee from Pune's Swargate had already completed 150 flying hours towards her commercial pilot licence. She was confident, attentive, and just 50 hours away from achieving her childhood dream. But at 11.30 am that day, everything changed in an instant. A talk that ignited a desire Bhavika studied in Pune's Muktangan English School, where a guest lecture by a pilot planted the first seeds of her aviation dreams. 'That lecture stayed with me throughout school,' Bhavika recalls. 'I kept thinking about what it would feel like to be up there, responsible for taking people safely to their destinations.' 'After completing Class 12 in 2019, I took my dream of becoming a pilot seriously and started searching for flying schools. The process got delayed due to the COVID-induced lockdown, and finally, in October 2021, I got into Carver Aviation flying school in Baramati,' she says. To obtain a commercial pilot licence, one needs to complete 200 flying hours and clear six theory papers, which usually takes around two years. 'After completing 150 flying hours, it was a normal day for me. I took off from Baramati in a Cessna-152 aircraft for a routine cross-country flight,' Bhavika remembers. 'Just 15 nautical miles into the journey, at about 1,000 feet above ground, the aircraft engines suddenly lost power.' With no option to return to the departure point, Bhavika's training kicked in. 'I spotted a slightly moist patch of farmland in Kadbanwadi village in Indapur, exactly what my instructors had taught me to look for to reduce landing drag,' she said. In those terrifying moments between engine failure and ground contact, Bhavika managed to safely crash-land the aircraft. She survived with only minor scratches on her chin. No one on the ground was hurt, despite the plane crashing less than 100 feet from the nearest house. 'I was completely in shock,' she says. 'This is the worst thing that could happen in the flying sector. But by God's grace, I was alive.' The crash led to a mandatory investigation by the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). After three intense days of questioning, Bhavika was put on a cooling period – a mandatory break from flying that follows any aircraft accident. 'It was traumatising. I gradually lost confidence, hope, and courage to fly again,' she says. 'I started self-doubting and slowly faced depression. After two months, I decided to quit and pursue a BBA instead to join my family business.' Bhavika's near and dear ones, however, had other plans. 'My family and friends counselled me to help recover my self-belief. They helped me scrap my thoughts about ending my flying career,' she says. Five months after the accident, in December 2022, Bhavika received a no-objection certificate for corrective training, a period in which trainee pilots fly with instructors until they regain confidence to fly solo. In January 2023, Bhavika walked back into Carver Aviation – saw the same corridors, the same runway where her dreams had once crashed. 'My colleagues and staff at the academy, particularly my instructor Captain Madhav Raj Singh, instilled confidence back in me,' she says. The journey back was not easy. Every take-off brought back memories of that fateful day. In September 2023, Bhavika secured her official Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL). 'Social media became helpful for me,' she reveals. 'After getting my CPL, candidates who faced similar crashes contacted me asking how to tackle negative thoughts. I was able to help them because I had been through the same experience.' 'My message to all those who feel dejected in their life would be to remain courageous and never lose hope. This will definitely help them achieve their dreams,' she says. Last year, Bhavika completed her type rating course, a specialised 45-day training programme on the Airbus 320 in Spain. Currently, she is preparing to join an aircraft carrier and has set her sights on an even bigger dream: flying an Airbus A380 someday. Shubham Kurale is an intern with The Indian Express.